Penticton poet needs animators for latest work

Penticton poet and writer Shane Koyczan is exploring the lasting effects of bullying with his latest work and is extending an invitation to animation artists to bring it to life.

Koyczan's To This Day spoken word poem is a call to confront the issue of bullying and tackles the impact it has over the course of an individual's life. To listen to the poem visit the To This Day website.

The first step in becoming part of the project is to submit an email address to tothisdayproject@gmail.com before Jan. 10 to receive a 20-second audio clip of an excerpt of the poem. The next thing to do is produce a mood-board written description or image of the animation concept by Jan. 20, to show commitment to the project. The last step is to create the animation and send it in by Feb. 10.

Koyczan was born in Yellowknife but grew up in Penticton. He presented a variation of his earlier work We Are More at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and has published two books;  A novel in reverse called Stickboy and a collection of poetry titled Visiting Hours. Visiting Hours was selected by the Globe and Mail for its 2005 best books list. As well, he collaborated with Vancouver-based musician Dan Mangan to produce Roboteering for the Tragic Turn of Events – Move Pen Move track.

In 2012, Koyczan released a full-length digital album titled Remembrance Year in collaboration with folk instrumentation The Short Story Long, a Saskatchewan based trio.

For more on Koyczan visit his website.